1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for waking up a plurality of hibernated mass storage devices, and more particularly, to a method for waking up a plurality of hibernated mass storage devices group by group.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As related technology keeps improving, mass storage devices possess more space for storing more data. In order to provide larger space at lower cost, a storage system may comprise an array of hard disks, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID). Generally, the hard disks of the storage system consume more than 50% of total power of the storage system. In order to decrease power consumption, when the storage system is in an idle state, the hard disks of the storage system are set to a hibernation mode to stop operation of the hard disks. However, when the storage system is trying to wake up the hibernated hard disks to access data stored in the hard disks, the hibernated hard disks need more power to be woken up immediately, so that the power consumption of the storage system increases sharply. The power consumption of the storage system during the wake up process is much larger than the power consumption of the storage system during normal operation.
The storage system of the prior art is not able to wake up the hibernated hard disks with lower power consumption. Besides, a power supply with maximum power much larger than the power consumption of the storage system during normal operation is needed for the storage system. Therefore, the storage system of the prior art is not power efficient.